Are Flash Intros Necessary When Launching a Flash Site?

No.

We build all different types of websites from XHTML to Flash and always advise against creating a Flash intro for websites. There are many disadvantages to Flash intros:

· They increase the file size of the homepage. This is one of the most important disadvantages of using Flash intros on your website: it increases the time the homepage takes to load. Expecting your visitor to first wait while the Flash intro loads and then expecting them to read your message is unreasonable. It would be like a telemarketer expecting you stay on the line through 30 seconds of music before they even start their pitch.

· They are outdated and look cheesy. This in not circa 2001; just cause we can do it, doesn't mean we should.

· If you add music and sound files, that's a huge no-no! This is intrusive on your visitor who may not want to listen to your sound file and could steer them away from your site.

· The most important disadvantage of using a Flash intro is that most search engines have difficulty indexing Flash, and thus it will not help you in the SEO department.

The conclusion is that most Flash intros serve little purpose and actually hurt websites. Remember that visitors come to your site to find information, very rarely entertainment derived from Flash intros (unless you have a website about entertaining Flash intros).

Comments on this post

Flash intro are more suited for Video blogs, or other video’s that you produce for your website or business for use on site such as youtube, not for the website itself.

Most people want a simple, yet elegant design on a web page that they visit, one that looks good, but it still easy to use..

as far as sound goes, its only good the first time you hear it, after that it is more annoying then anything else, so it is probably best to keep it off your site. sound can also Make a first bad impression on a new visitor, say they are in the middle of listening to their favorite song, and they go to your site, and out of no where some music or sounds drowned out their music, and before they even read the first line of your site, they are looking for the back button to navigate away.

In short, keep sound off your site, keep the layout simple and easy to use with as few of buttons as possible, and don’t do intro’s, banner’s, or ads on the main page, if at all possible, avoid them on the entire site. there are thousands upon thousands of websites, you need to make your users feel as welcome as possible, and treat them like family while they are there in order to get them to stay at your site.